Certificate of Appropriateness Application Procedures

About the Design Review Process

Planning and Zoning Department staff assist applicants and BAR members throughout the design review process. Staff administratively approves applications for installing or replacing fences, paving driveways, adding landscape lighting, or changing an exterior paint color scheme. For larger projects, staff members work with applicants through the BAR review process to obtain the necessary permits.

Unless otherwise noted in the BAR Meeting Schedule, applications, fees and materials must be submitted by 5pm on the 3rd Monday of the month in order to have a public hearing scheduled for the following month. For example, an application submitted in March would be scheduled for a public hearing in April.

The Board holds their public hearings on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00pm, unless noted in the BAR meeting schedule. Many applications are handled in one meeting; however, larger projects often require additional discussion an are continued to the Board's work session held on the 1st Monday of each month at 7:00pm. The Board will also schedule site visits on an as needed basis.

Please note that building permits will not be issued until the applicant has obtained a zoning permit from the Town (and BAR approval as applicable). Additionally, all sign applications require sign permits even if an existing sign is being relocated to another site.

Fees and other information can be found on the Certificate of Appropriateness application form as well as checklist of what's needed for a complete application.

Applicant Presentations Applicants desiring to use an electronic presentation, such as PowerPoint, must follow the procedures below:

Presentations must be emailed to dparry@leesburgva.gov, submitted on a USB flash drive or PC-formatted CD/DVD. prior to 3pm the day of the presentation. Files will be scanned for viruses and tested to ensure they display properly on the Town’s A/V equipment. In the event of a problem, you will be notified by staff.

Staff Contact
Tom Scofield, Preservation Planner, is the staff contact for Board of Architectural Review cases. He may be reached at tscofield@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2773.